A practicable solution to the widely acknowledged problem of the tendency of sheets, blankets and the like to loosen from a mattress, come undone and fall onto the floor during occupancy of a bed has to date not been given sufficient consideration by manufacturers of bed components. Past approaches have included, for instance, the provision of complex, cumbersome and constrictive apparatus such as leather straps and harnesses, bed boards, nuts and bolts, belts and buckles, large buttons and snaps, zippers, spring-biased clamps, full-length sheathing, flaps weighted down with elongated ribs, and rigid bed corner fixtures. It is thus evident that a need remains for provision of an unobtrusive means by which bedding materials can be retained and prevented from coming loose during use of the bedding materials and occupancy of the bed. There exists a further need for an apparatus which retains bedding materials and prevents the materials from coming into disarray while folding or retracting the materials at one end of the bed. The invention disclosed herein solves these and related problems.